Family Matters
by aXross
Summary: Harry dies, arriving at the train station. But instead of going back, he's transported to a world where Voldemort attacked Neville instead of Harry. Now Harry has a loving family and is about to start Hogwarts for the second time, so why are there still so many unanswered questions? Whose life has he stumbled into?


Family Matters

Summary: Harry dies, arriving at the train station. But instead of going back, he's transported to a world where Voldemort attacked Neville instead of Harry. Now Harry has a loving family and is about to start Hogwarts for the second time, so why are there still so many unanswered questions? Whose life has he stumbled into?

Chapter 1:

Harry focused longingly on the image of his reflection. Remus to his left, hand on Harry's shoulder. On the other side of the broad man was Tonks, holding a small, covered bundle. Sirius mussed his hair from Harry's right, and Mad-eye stood behind them all, mouthing _constant vigilance!_

Suddenly, Hedwig swooped in, landing on Harry's shoulder, beside Sirius. Misty eyed, Harry raised a shaking hand to his companion, but it went straight through her. The Mirror of Erised didn't show him what was physically there, after all.

More people suddenly began filling into the background. Cedric Diggory flew in on a broom, full quidditch gear. Dobby entered, riding a unicorn of all things. Fred Weasley ran by, avoiding Colin Creevey who was chasing him with a camera bewitched with multicolored strobe-like flashing, glitter bursting from the thing with every flash. Many others that he knew joined in, and some he didn't until the entire mirror was filled to the brim. He searched the image, looking for two specific people-

There. In the far background, nearly hidden from everyone else, were his parents. They stood, his father's arm around his mother. James gave Lily a playful snuggle, and she swatted him away good-naturedly. Beside his mother was a child, a small, cute girl with red hair, not unlike how Ginny looked when she was a child. She had a slim black kitten perched on her shoulder, and with her other arm she was playing with a sleeping snitch while grinning cockily at Harry. Next to his father was an even younger boy, with a round face, soft black hair and rectangular glasses. He was clutching a book to his chest, and perched on his shoulder was a toad. That was his family, what could have been had Voldemort not killed them that night. Harry reached out to the mirror, longing to get closer to them, they were so far away…

Suddenly a train whistle blared behind him, causing him to jump. As he flinched, his hand met the mirror. Harry watched, eyes wide as the people began to fade from the picture, one by one until only his family remained. Now the center of attention, he could see that both his siblings had brown eyes, like his father. _Harry,_ his mother mouthed, holding out her hand. _Son, come home_.

Harry felt himself fall forward into the mirror, and everything turned white.

 _Harry_.

He heard someone calling his name, but he was so warm and comfortable. He'd never felt this good.

 _Haaaary. That's it. I'm doing it._

 _Ivy, no-_

Harry groaned. Whatever he was laying on was soft, softer than the Dursley's or his bed at Hogwarts. It was like laying on clouds. Clouds, like heaven. Like being dead. From a killing curse. Like-

 _Cold!_ Harry shot up, sputtering and shaking. He wiped icy water from his eyes before opening them. "What the hell," he said, gasping.

"Harry swore!" A little girl sang from beside him, empty bucket held in her hand. She passed it off to an even smaller boy and ran out of the room. "Mum!" Harry heard her yell. "Harry swore again!"

"Put a sickle in the swear jar, sweetie," he heard the woman yell from a few rooms away.

The little boy from beside him sighed. "I'll get it," he said. Bucket swinging in one hand, the small boy walked over to a dresser, and on his tippie toes opened the top drawer, pulling out a small purse. He took a silver coin out from inside before putting it back. "You'd better get ready. Dad's almost done with breakfast." The boy stood there, seemingly waiting for something.

"Erm, right," Harry said, running a hand over his dripping face.

The boy stared at him for a few moments before frowning. "You're acting really strange today," he said. When Harry didn't reply, he shook his head and left.

Now that everyone was gone, he looked around. It was beautiful. The walls of the room were painted like a jungle, with green vines and leaves and trees. There were various animals, moving along the wall. A panther stalked one corner, while a butterfly flitted on a large orange flower nearby. However, he couldn't see much of the jungle, because it was covered with dozens of posters. Falmouth Falcons players stared back at him, preening pompously for the portrait. A group of scantily-clad females posed on another poster while surrounding a mic, making Harry blush. There were a couple that weren't quidditch or... music, or whatever those girls were. These had individual people, wands at the ready, and a golden _Dueling Championships_ label in the corner, along with various names.

What did he remember? He remembered dying from the killing curse, and appearing in front of the mirror of Erised, which was full of people he knew, and some he didn't. Was there a common theme? Yes, they were all people who had died in this war. Then a whistle, and he touched the mirror and-

Those two children, they were the same ones that were in the mirror. Could it be?

"Harry, breakfast is ready!"

Harry turned to the bedroom door, ideas flying through his head. If he was correct… he ran out the door, spotted a staircase and flew down, taking the steps three at a time. He ran through the house, following the sounds, and burst into a bustling kitchen. A woman was there, her back to Harry, bright red hair swooshing as she moved.

"Jeremy, take these eggs to the table if you would. Ivy- no, stop eating the bacon. It's almost breakfast, you can wait. And Harry-" a woman spun towards him. Now that Harry was facing her, he could see the resemblance to the photos he had. This was Lily Potter, his mother, alive and well. "Harry, why are you all wet? And why are you still in your pajamas?" She waited a beat before continuing. "It doesn't matter, just go back upstairs and put on your robes. I want to make the alley before it gets busy, and we're cutting it close as it is." She turned away from Harry and went back to setting the table.

Harry stared at her for another minute, until she turned back around and said annoyed "Well? Get a move on then!"

Mechanically, Harry turned around and walked back to the staircase, and up to the second floor. His mother was downstairs. _His mother_. His dead mother, mum, Lily Potter, was alive and well. And she wanted him to get dressed. Harry entered the room, _his_ bedroom, and went to the dresser. He opened all the drawers. Each held perfectly folded piles of clothing. He pulled out what he needed, then took off his pajamas and put it all on. Beside the dresser was an armoire, doors open, reveling dozens of robes. He picked a simple black one and put it on over his clothes, then as an afterthought grabbed the money pouch from one of the drawers and put it in his robe pocket. He looked around for his wand, but couldn't find it. His mother, _mother_ , yelled for him from downstairs so he made his way back to the kitchen.

The three of them were already sitting around the table, so he walked over and sat next to the smaller boy, Jeremy, and across from his mother and… and sister, Ivy. He had siblings. As the shock started wearing off, and realization sat in, he felt his eyes start to water.

"Well, dig in," his mother said. The three of them, his _family_ , started grabbing food. Harry tried wiping his eyes inconspicuously, but noticed his mother looking at him strangely. Luckily his siblings didn't seem to notice. _Siblings. Family._

He looked down at his plate, noticing that it was already filled with food. His brother was finishing putting another strip of bacon on it, before putting bacon onto his own.

"Thanks," Harry said.

The entire table froze.

"Um, you're welcome?" Jeremy said, as if it was a question.

Harry gave him a small smile, then began to dig in. Suddenly he was _starving_.

"Harry's being super weird today," Ivy said around a mouthful of eggs.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," his mother told her.

Ivy swallowed her food. "Just saying," she muttered.

"Harry?" his mother asked. Harry looked up from his plate. "Is there anywhere special you want to go today?"

Harry blinked. "Special?" he asked, trying to get more information. She had said they were going to the Alley, so Diagon Alley? "Quality Quidditch?"

"We can go there," his mother said, "and see if they have any new posters."

"Can we go to the used bookshop?" Jeremy asked. "Please?"

"This is Harry's trip," his mother said. "If that's where he wants to go, then we can."

"Of course, he does," Jeremey said. "Right Harry?"

"R-right," Harry agreed, causing Jeremy to grin.

"How about the junk store?" Ivy asked.

His mother took another bite of eggs. "We'll see how much time we have left after getting all of Harry's supplies."

Supplies, right. That reminded him. "Where's my wand?" he asked, trying to sound casual, like he hadn't lost it. Well, not lost, but he couldn't find it.

"Ollivander's will be for that," she said. "We'll go there first, since it tends to back up quickly.

Buying a wand? So, he didn't already have one? Harry looked down at his hands, suddenly realizing that they were much smaller than he remembered. Gods, how young was he? Diagon Alley, supplies, a _wand_ … he couldn't be eleven again, could he? But all signs pointed to yes. Not only was he with his mother and unborn (nonexistent, murdered before they had a chance to exist) siblings, but he was also about to start Hogwarts all over again.

Start… Hogwarts… again. He'd just left the school, granted not on the best terms, however he had no desire to go back and take classes again, and certainly not as a _first year_. He'd rather stay home with his family. However, it didn't seem like he had much of a choice.

After they finished eating and cleaning up, they all went to the living room and stood in front of a giant fireplace. "I'll go first with Ivy. Harry, Jeremy, follow directly behind me, am I understood?"

"Yes, mother," Jeremy said.

Lily nodded, then grabbed Ivy's hand, pulling her into the fireplace. With her other she took a handful of floo powder and threw it in. "Diagon Alley!" she said. The fireplace flared green fire, and the two of them disappeared.

"Alright," Jeremy said. "Us next." They got into the fireplace. Harry grabbed a handful of floo powder from the mantle and, remembering his last debacle where he ended up in Knockturn Alley by mistake, threw it in and enunciated clearly "Diagon Alley."

They spun around and around, until suddenly they flew out of the fireplace. Harry hit something with an 'oomph', and he heard someone shout as something fell over.

"Harry!" his mother said, helping him up. He'd knocked over a wooden chair, and caused someone's glass of water on a nearby table to topple over. "Sorry!" she said to the occupants of the table. "It's been a while since you've had this much issue with the floo, hasn't it?" she took out a handkerchief and began wiping Harry's face down. When she got to his forehead, she paused. "Harry, when did you get this scar?"

He blinked. "Um…"

"It's fashion, mother," Jeremy said, coming to his aid.

"There's nothing 'fashionable' about marking yourself like that. How do you think Neville would feel if he saw this?"

"It's nothing, M-mum." Harry said, stumbling over the unfamiliar word, and wracked his brain for an excuse. "Temporary."

"It had better be," she said, then ran a finger over it. "But it does look very realistic, even feels like a scar… where did you get the applicator?"

Harry ducked away, his need for her to _not touch_ his scar slightly greater than his desire for her to be close to him. He'd have to find a way to hide the scar, if it was unusual for him to have it. But for now he just smoothed his fringe over it.

"Alright, let's go," she said, leading them out of the pub they'd landed in. "Ollivander's is this way."

They made their way to the shop, and they only had to wait a minute until they could go inside. Ivy and Jeremy looked around in awe. Harry, having already seen all this before, still gazed at all the floor to ceiling shelves. There were so many wands, hundreds upon hundreds of them, in various boxes. And he didn't notice last time, entranced as he was with the wands, but there were some items at the end of the counter as well. Kits for caring for your wand, elaborate boxes for storage, even holsters for binding to your wrist.

"Mr. Potter," the old man said from behind the counter. "I was wondering when I'd be expecting you." He turned to his siblings. "You two still have a few years yet before your time, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir," Jeremy said with a frown. Ivy just crossed her arms and glared at the man.

Ollivander chuckled. "Such spunk your children have," he said to Lily. "As expected, from one with a wand such as yours. 10 ¼, made of willow, and swishy. I trust it has served you well in your charm work, Mrs. Potter?"

"I use it more for potion making now, however I was top of my class in charms at Hogwarts, correct."

"That is right, you are quite accomplished in the potion's community, are you not?" He hummed. "However, we are not here to talk of your accomplishments. We are here to find your son his match." The man shooed the other three to the back of the store until only Harry remained in front of him. "Now, Mr. Potter, your wand arm if you please."

Harry raised his right arm, and a familiar tape measure began hovering, measuring all sorts of things as Ollivander began pulling down boxes. When the man returned, placing his armful of wands onto the counter, he waved his hand and the tape measure fell to the floor. "Now, where to start?" He wiggled his fingers before picking a seemingly random box from the pile and opened it. "Unicorn and Willow," he said, handing it over gently.

Harry gripped the handle, and the moment his hand touched it the wand made an unholy _shriek_ and Harry jumped back, dropping the stick.

Behind him Ivy snickered.

"Nope, nope, definitely not," Ollivander said, placing the wand back. He separated out a few other wands to the side, and Harry assumed those were also ones that wouldn't work. It took him a long time to find his wand before, and he hoped Ollivander would try his phoenix feather one sooner this time around.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Harry went through wand after wand, many dragon heartstring, a few phoenix feathers and one more unicorn hair (which made another ungodly sound, causing Ollivander to abandon giving Harry anymore of that core).

"Tricky customer, eh?" he said. "Not to worry, I have yet to meet a wizard whose wand I couldn't find, and I do not intend to begin today." He went back into the shelves, leaving Harry at the counter.

"Can we go get ice cream, mum? We've been here _forever_." Ivy asked.

"Not yet."

Harry looked out the window. He felt kind of guilty – as he'd been trying out wands, the line had backed up and there was almost a dozen people waiting outside now – but then again, they weren't the ones waving wands and cringing as things broke, were they?

Ollivander returned with another armful of wands. He picked one from the pile, holding it even more careful than he had any of the others, and opened the box. Harry didn't need to hear Ollivander say the name, since he recognized the wand immediately. Harry reached for it, not waiting for Ollivander to hand it to him this time, knowing that this was _his_ wand. _His_ Holly and Phoenix feather, 11 inches. He gripped the handle, the weight of it feeling comfortable in his hand, and gave it a wave-

Nothing happened. No sparks, no warm rush, nothing. Harry stared at the wand in disbelief. This was his wand, so why wasn't he feeling anything? He gave it another wave, and a weak burst of smoke came out the end.

"Interesting," Ollivander said, holding out his hand. Reluctantly Harry gave the wand back. "You seem to have a slight connection with this wand, yet it is not the one for you. Let us continue."

"Holly," Jeremy said from behind them. "That's a protective wood, isn't it?" he asked.

"Very good!" Ollivander said, smiling wide. "Might I ask how a young man such as yourself knew that?"

"I- I read your book, Mr. Ollivander. Your notes on wand woods? It was quite fascinating."

"It's nice to know that there are still young people out there interested in the crafting of wands. Perhaps, when you return in three years' time, you'll be able to tell me what your own wand says about yourself, yes?"

"Yes, sir," Jeremy said.

They went through the rest of the pile without any luck. "Tricky customer, eh?" Ollivander walked back to the shelves, muttering to himself. "Have to try out some of my more volatile woods, now won't I?"

Harry bit his bottom lip. If his Holly wand didn't respond, what was the chance he'd find another that matched him? True, he was in a new time, or world or universe or something, one where his family survived, but that shouldn't have changed his wand, should it have? Unless… his mother said something about his scar, and Neville when she was cleaning his face. If Neville had the scar, that would make Neville the boy-who-lived? Maybe _his_ old wand, Voldemort's brother wand, was destined for Neville now? Then, where did that leave _him_?

Ollivander returned with another armful of wands. He pushed some of the ones they'd already tried to the side (Harry winced, thinking about how the man had to put them all away after this, there must have been close to a hundred boxes on the counter by now). Ollivander started by opening a box and pulling out a thin, black wand. "Ebony and Phoenix Feather. Now, I warn you Mr. Potter, some of these wands are a bit more temperamental than the ones you've been trying, so I request that when you wave it, please do not aim at me."

Harry waved the wand at a lamp, and the shade burst into flames.

Ollivander quickly put out the fire after taking the wand back from Harry. "Nope, definitely not this one." Harry was handed several more, some with similar effects and some which Ollivander took away before Harry could so much as grip the handle properly. Then Ollivander handed him a light brown, almost white wand, one that was a few inches shorter than his Holly wand and quite a few ounces lighter as well. "Yew and Dragon Heartstring."

Harry reluctantly grabbed the wand, remembering that Voldemort's own wand was Yew, however as his fingers touched the handle he knew that this wand was meant for him. He waved it, and all the other wands zoomed back to their shelves.

"Excellent!" Ollivander said, clapping his hands. "Clearly this wand does not want you trying any more. Quite a feisty one, isn't it?"

The wand thrummed in his hand, as if agreeing with the elder wizard.

"And most peculiar," the man said, lowering his voice, causing Harry to lean in closer to hear him. "For this wand, this particular wand, was carved from the same Yew tree as another that I have since sold." Harry felt the blood drain from his face. "One whose core was plucked from the same tail feather as the Holly wand which was almost your match."

His mother placed her hand on Harry's shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise, and she dropped her hand. She placed a cleaning kit on the empty counter in front of Harry, then frowned. "Where did its box go?"

Ollivander snorted. "I do not believe that wand wants to be tucked away after finally finding its owner after all these years, Mrs. Potter. After all, it banished its box to the trash. Perhaps you would like to purchase a holster to keep it?"

Lily sighed. "Very well. Harry? Which one would you like?"

Harry went over to the holsters, looking them over. "What's the difference?"

Jeremy was suddenly next to Harry and picked up a simple black one. "You want this one, Harry. It's lightweight, and has the quickest reaction time. It's similar to the one Corbyn used when he defeated Locke in the last tourney."

Corbyn? Locke? Who were they? "Alright," Harry said, since he didn't know anything about holsters. "This one looks good."

Ollivander waved his wand over the holster, adjusting the size, then strapped it to Harry's arm. "It has an extension charm, so your wand won't go out past your elbow. To retract your wand, simply flick your wrist. However, be careful to catch your wand as you do so – I do not believe your wand would be too happy to go flying if you don't catch it."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, placing his wand into the slot. He gave his wrist a hesitant flick, but nothing happened.

"With force, Mr. Potter. Your wand won't come to an owner without merit!"

Harry flicked his wand hard, and barely managed to catch it by the end of the handle.

"Practice, Mr. Potter, and you will get it eventually. That will be twelve galleons."

Harry absently reached into his pocket for his purse, but his mother had already placed the required galleons onto the counter. "Quickly now," she said, pushing them out the store. "We still have quite a few things to get before our lunch reservation."

"Thanks mother," Harry said as they left.

"For what?" She asked confused.

"For- for buying me my wand."

"Oh, Harry," Lily said. "We many not always see eye-to-eye, but what kind of mother would I be if I made you buy your own school supplies?" It seemed to be a rhetorical question, because she dragged them through the Alley without another word.

They entered _Flourish and Blotts_. There was a long line, so Lily told them they could look around while she waited at the counter to pick up the books. She then sternly told Harry and Jeremy only one book each, and asked Ivy not to make trouble.

"One book?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Yeah," Jeremy said, grabbing his left hand. "Come on, let's see if there's any new dueling books in."

Harry followed his brother to a large shelf, as he lost his sister in the crowd.

"Oh! They have Locke's recount of his tournament, match-by-match! But Corbyn's is sold out already, shoot."

Harry picked up the book Jeremy was pointing to, and opened it to a random page.

 _\- vs. Gregory was unexpectedly difficult. Although he was towards the bottom of the rankings, our skills matched up in his favour, and my focus on powerful spells was a disadvantage as he reflected them back my way with each volley. While our match only lasted ten minutes and thirty seven seconds, our first round was nearly eight minutes of that, and it was only once I-_

Jeremy plucked the book out of Harry's hands. "Definitely this one. I'll read it and send it to you at Hogwarts when I'm finished. Which do you want?"

Harry blinked, looking at the shelf. Hermione was always the bookworm, not him, and he didn't even know that dueling was a section. There was the dueling club in his second year, of course, but that was more of a farce than anything. And he'd dueled Death Eaters, but dueling as a sport? He pulled down a simple book, _Dueling for Beginners_.

"We already have that book, Harry. How about this?" He pulled down a slim book, _Stances and Stagecraft_ and handed it to his brother.

Harry flipped through it, looking at the pictures of different duelers. They had their body turned sideways, and the moving pictures went through various weaves and dodges amid a silently cheering crowd.

"Alright," Harry said, closing the book.

"Great! You'll send it back to me when you're done with it, won't you?"

"Sure," Harry said, and Jeremy beamed.

Suddenly Ivy was in front of them. "C'mon," she said. "Mum said if you want her to buy the books, you have to get back now. She's almost at the front of the line."

They went back to their mother just in time for her to buy the books, and she didn't bat an eye at their contents or price, only asked to make sure they didn't already have these ones. Then they left the store, their shrunken purchases in Lily's pocket.

"We spent longer there than I would have liked," Lily said, and Harry felt bad he'd spent so long in the wand shop. "Alright, our reservation is in five, so let's make haste."

They stopped in at a small sandwich shop, which was packed with customers. They were led to an empty table (the benefit of making reservations, Harry supposed) and were brought out food without asking what they wanted. Harry bit into his sandwich, and found it surprisingly delicious. They must come here often, if the staff knew what they always ordered.

After a quick lunch they bought Harry a simple trunk, and Lily unshrunk the books and placed them inside. Then they bought the other supplies like a cauldron, scales and such. When they went to Madame Malkin's, as Harry stood on a stool getting measured his mother said she'd go to the apothecary and be back soon, and for them to wait there if Harry finished before she returned.

Ivy wandered around the store, feeling all the different material on the robes, snickering at some of the frillier ones. Jeremy stayed by Harry.

"I wish I could go to Hogwarts," Jeremy sighed.

"Only a few more years, yeah?" Harry replied, remembering what Ollivander had said.

"Yeah, but by then you'll be in fourth year already! I'll be so far behind!" Jeremy tapped his chin. "Hey, how about you send me your notes? That way, I can see what you're studying!"

"Please," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "I doubt my notes will be helpful." After all, last time around they were barely legible. Without Hermione, he probably would have failed all his classes because he couldn't read back what he'd written during class. He smiled softly. His brother would probably go to Ravenclaw when he went to Hogwarts. And Ivy, who was stripping a mannequin of its hideous dress robes, Gryffindor for sure.

Jeremy frowned. "If you don't want to send them to me, just say so, but don't lie."

Now Harry was confused. "I'm not-"

"All done, young man," the woman measuring him said. "Hogwarts standard?" she asked.

"Standard plus," Jeremy said before Harry could agree. "With complete additions."

The woman squinted at Harry's brother, the small eight-year-old. "Are you sure, young man? That will be quite a bit extra. Perhaps I should wait for your mother to come back first…"

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "We're Potters," he said as if that explained everything.

Evidently it did because the woman didn't ask any more questions, and just went to the back of the store.

Ivy walked over, wearing a puffy dress with lots of lace and unnecessary material, in a hideous dark pink and cream. She was holding it up as much as possible, but the ends still trailed the floor. "How do I look, boys?" she asked, twirling around and nearly tripping over the loose fabric.

"Hideous," Jeremy said.

Harry, starting to get the hang of this, said "oh, did you change something?"

"You're both berks!" she said, laughing. "It is quite awful, isn't it?"

"It suits you," Jeremy said with a smirk.

"Don't be mean," Ivy said, slipping the dress off so she was just wearing her robes again. "Are we almost finished?"

"Here you are dears," a woman said, coming out from the back of the shop with a bag. "Shall I add it to your account?"

"That will be fine," Jeremy said, taking the bag, just as their mother walked into the store.

"You're all set, Mrs. Potter," the woman said. "Have a wonderful day!"

Lily took the bag from her son and put it into the trunk. "Now Harry, I know you wanted to go to the quidditch shop, but it's very crowded. How about we go get you a pet instead?"

"Ok," Harry said excitedly. He'd get to meet with Hedwig again!

However, instead of going to the Owl Emporium, they walked by it. As Harry passed, he didn't see Hedwig either, and her white feathers would have stood out had she been there. Maybe someone had already purchased her? He frowned, hoping it was someone at Hogwarts, so he could still see her again.

Instead they made their way into _Magical Menagerie_. Lily led them to the back of the shop, past the cats and hamsters and into the reptile section. "Now Harry," she said. "I know you've wanted a snake for a long time, and I would never buy you one… but I spoke with the headmaster, and he agreed to make an exception. So, well, here." She waved her arm along the shelves. "Feel free to choose a pet."

Harry blinked. A snake? He… he wanted a snake? What kind of person was he? Who was Harry Potter before, well, before Harry came back?

"Awesome!" Jeremy said, walking up to one of the terrariums. "This one's a ball python – they're a type of constrictor. And that one, she's an albino rosy boa! Which one are you going to get, Harry?"

Harry opened his mouth-

 _Humansss,_ he heard the python hiss. _They have come to try and claim us._

 _Ooo, pick me!_ The white one said. _I like humansss. They are warm._

Harry closed his mouth and cleared his throat, suddenly wary of speaking. This Harry Potter probably wasn't a parselmouth, was he? And what did that say about Harry, that he could still understand snakes?

 _Rip, bite, I will tear into your skin!_

Harry turned towards one of the terrariums in the corner, spotting a jet-black snake with cream spots on its head and light stripes along its body.

"That's a tiger snake," Jeremy said, following his gaze. "Highly venomous."

"Nothing venomous!" Lily quickly amended, looking around the store. "Honestly, why would they have something like that in here for purchase?"

"Can I look for a little bit?" Harry asked.

"Sure sweetie, just don't take too long. Jeremy, did you want to look at some of the other reptiles?"

Jeremy bit his lip. "Maybe… maybe a toad?"

Lily smiled. "I think we can make that work. Ivy, you want- wait, where did she go?"

"I think she's looking at the kittens," Jeremy said.

"Alright. Harry, let us know when you decide, alright?"

"Okay," Harry said and they left. He turned back to the half dozen terrariums filled with snakes. " _Um, hello,_ " he said hesitantly when his family was far enough away that they wouldn't hear him.

Suddenly, every snake turned towards him.

" _It speaksss!"_ One of the snakes, a small green one, hissed. " _Brother, look, it speaksss to us!"_

" _But does it understand?"_ A second identical snake in the same terrarium asked.

" _Yes?"_ Harry said, although it was more of a question.

" _Speaker!"_ said the white snake, the boa. " _Choose me! I have never met a sspeaker before!"_

" _None of us have, idiot,"_ the tiger snake spat. _"Besides, a great speaker would not want one as boring as yourself."_

" _I don't know,"_ Harry said. _"I think I'd rather have a nice snake for a pet than, well than one that hurts people."_

The tiger snake hissed in anger. _"Snakes are not_ pets _."_ It flicked its tail. " _We hunt, we kill_ , _and we_ enjoy _it. We are predators, the most dangerous of them all. We lay in wait, biding our time until our prey is docile, until they feel safe. Then, and only then do we strike, and we do not miss."_

Harry's licked his suddenly dry lips.

" _Perhaps that is you,_ " the boa said dismissively, and Harry turned towards it, " _however_ I _for one would be happy simply to be someone's pet! I would love them, and play with them. I just want to be fed and kept warm, and that will make me happy._ "

Decided, Harry reached for the container with the white snake-

" _If you choose me,"_ the tiger snake hissed, _"I will not be your pet, but instead a loyal companion. I will protect your back from those who wish you harm. We will be a team, you my kin, and I will not hurt you or yours."_

Harry glanced at the tiger snake, before continuing towards the friendly white one. He had just found his family, and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize their safety. He didn't want anything to do with danger or Voldemort. For once, he wanted to be Just Harry, a normal boy with a normal family and a normal pet. Was that too much to ask?

The tiger snake hissed angrily at Harry's movement, and suddenly it had broken out of its enclosure, pushing aside the screen top and launching itself through the air. Before Harry knew what had happened it had wrapped itself around Harry's arm, laying its head against his neck, whispering into his ear, and Harry froze in terror. _"If you do not pick me, I will bite everyone in this ssstore, including your family. I will bite them, starting with you, and they will all die slowly and painfully."_ The snake opened his jaw, resting his fangs against Harry's jugular, and he felt a burning as venom hit his skin.

" _Okay_ ," Harry said before he'd really thought, because really did he have a choice?

The snake, no more than two feet in length, closed its mouth and curled twice around Harry's neck, loose enough that he could breathe but still tight enough to be constricting. He imagined he must look like he was wearing a strange choker necklace.

"Harry?" his mother said, coming back. "Have you found a pet?"

The snake hissed from his neck, and Harry absentmindedly raised his hand to try and calm it, like he used to do with Hedwig. The snake curled around his hand, still looped once around his neck.

"Great," she said. "At least it's friendly. Well come on, let's go pay for it, and hope your father doesn't have a heart attack when he sees it…"

Father. James Potter. That's right, he hadn't seen him yet, how could he forget?

"M-ma'am?" the young man behind the counter, no older than Harry was when he died and probably here as a summer job before returning to Hogwarts, said hesitantly. "A-are you _sure_ you want to purchase that for your son? We have some nice other-"

"Yes," Lily said. "I know, but it's what he wants. And I'm sorry, but could you please hurry? We're in a bit of a rush. Ivy! Get over here."

Ivy came over, holding a tiny black ball. "Oh, good, it's small enough that it won't eat Shadow."

"Shadow?" Harry asked, eying her new pet.

 _That ball of fluff is not worthy to be my prey._ Harry gripped the tiger snake firmly in warming. He'd be mortified if it ate his sister's new pet.

"Hey, I found..." Jeremy trailed off. "Hey Harry, you know you have, um,"

"Yeah, I know," Harry said softly, trying not to jostle the snake as he spoke. "It's fine."

"Ah, right. Well, mother bought me _a toad_ ," he said excitedly.

Harry blinked. "I'm, glad you're happy?"

"Yes, well, you found a tig-" he glanced at Lily, "A terrifically awesome snake, so that's cool too. Do you think he would let me touch him?"

Harry looked at the snake, who laid silently, and slowly untangled the snake from his neck. "I am sure he won't bite you, will you?"

" _As I have already said, I will not bite your kin."_

Harry held the snake out carefully. His brother gently placed his hand on its body. "So cool," Jeremy said, lightly petting the snake's scales, before retracting his hand. The snake wrapped back around Harry's left arm, hiding under his robes. "He's still young, but he won't grow much more, so at least you'll be able to hide him at Hogwarts."

"Hide him?"

Jeremy blinked. "Well, yeah." He lowered his voice. "I mean, when the headmaster said he'd let you have a snake, I doubt he had _this_ breed in mind."

"Right," Harry said. "Yeah, right."

"Ready?" Lily said. "Harry, you have your snake? Are you sure you don't want to put it in the terrarium? It won't get lost?"

" _If you dare place me in that confinement I will tear into your skin until all of your body matches the color of that female human's hair_."

"Nope!" Harry squeaked. "He won't leave."

"Fine. Come along, Ivy, Jeremy. I need to head home and get dinner started. By the way," she said as they started walking back towards the floo, "what kind of snake is that?"

"Umm," Harry said. "I- I don't really know."

"It's a Dwarf Northern Kingsnake," Jeremy piped in.

"Oh, a Kingsnake?" Lily said. "That sounds… dangerous.

"Actually, Kingsnakes are non-venomous. And they're immune to some other snake's venom, which is cool. And they can grow up to 3-4 feet, but this one is a dwarf, so it'll stay basically this length. Also, Kingsnakes-"

"Thanks Jeremy, I think that's enough," Lily said, cutting him off. "Sounds like you chose a good snake, Harry. I was a little worried you'd want something more dangerous. I'm proud of your decision."

"Thanks, mum," Harry said, trying not to let the guilt show on his face, as the venomous snake coiled tighter around his arm.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review with any feedback, what you'd like to see, anything that confused you or could be elaborated on in future chapters, or even just to say hi :) I like talking with random people.

Next chapter: Harry meets some of Harry's friends, and starts Hogwarts for the second time around.


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